


Horde Trinity AU

by lilreadergurl



Series: Horde Trinity AU [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: AU, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other, That's what this whole thing is, What If There Was Another Kid That Shadow Weaver Took In?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:22:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24342682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilreadergurl/pseuds/lilreadergurl
Summary: Dawna's not the strongest and she might not be the bravest, but god did it hurt to lose her best friend.
Relationships: Adora & Bow (She-Ra), Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Series: Horde Trinity AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1757758
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has been in development since before SPOP S5 and I finally want to post it here. I hope you enjoy!

**Horde Trinity AU**

**Vol.1**

#  **Chapter 1**

_ The others sure are smelly _ , Dawna thought to herself as she walked to the laundry room, carrying her peers' dirty laundry. They were currently at training for an upcoming battle, something Dawna didn’t want to attend considering that she really didn’t like fighting. Shadow Weaver always complained about it and Adora and Catra always questioned why and she always answered it wasn’t in her nature. She had stopped training after an incident about a year or two ago that caused her recent stutter. Something she wasn’t too happy about, but at least Adora and Catra didn’t see her any different.

“Hey, Dawna,” the worker in the laundry room called. This worker was a man by the name of Liam. He was tall, dark-skinned like her and Lonnie, dark-haired, and really lanky. His doe-brown eyes smiled along with his lips as the girl came to a stop in front of him.

“H… Hi, Liam,” she greeted. She really didn’t like her stutter. Shadow Weaver already complained about her lack of confidence. She didn’t need more things to make her feel even less confident. But, at least Liam was nice to her along with Adora, Catra, and Kyle.

“More gifts for me?” Liam joked.

“Yep,” Dawna replied, holding out the “e”, unintentionally, as she handed him the clothes.

“Alright,” Liam cheered, taking the clothes and throwing them into the large washer. “How’s your day going, kiddo?” He asked.

“G-good,” Dawna replied.

“That’s good,” Liam said, smiling brighter. He reached over to ruffle her hair, making Dawna laugh.

“You… You’ve got stinky hands,” she laughed.

“They don’t smell that bad,” Liam chuckled.

“Yes, th-they do,” Dawna giggled.

Liam gave another smile before heading into the laundry room. “I’ll see you later,” he told her.

“B… Bye,” Dawna called before turning to head back to her room. She yelped as someone landed on her. She held her arms in front of her face and curled into herself. Surprise attacks terrified her. She could never figure out why, but she thinks it has to do with her past before she was picked up by the Horde. There was a word for that. She didn’t know it, though.

“You okay?” The person who attacked her asked as they stepped off of her.

Dawna gave a sigh of relief before she sat up and glared at Catra. “C-Catra,” she grumbled. “You… know how much I d _ o _ n’t like that.”

Catra gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry,” she apologized. She, then, perked up before grabbing Dawna by the arm. “Come on. We have to tell you something.”

“Tell me, um, what?” Dawna asked, curious.

“Just come on,” Catra said, dragging her along.

Dawna was dragged forever until she was outside with Adora. “W-what’s going on, you two?” She asked, getting annoyed. “I… It better be good.”

Catra nudged Adora. “Go on,” she muttered. “Show her.”

Adora took a deep breath before holding out a Force Captain badge.

“You’ve… been pro-promoted?” Dawna asked.

Adora nodded and Dawna smiled. “Th-that’s cool,” the girl responded. “You’d do… very w _ e _ ll as Force Captain.”

Catra gave Adora a playful nudge. “Of course she would,” she said. “We’ve seen Adora in training.”

Dawna hummed before a thought came to her mind. “H-how come y-y _ o _ u didn’t get promo-promoted, Catra?” She inquired. “You’re… just as g-good as Adora.”

Catra glanced away. “Shadow Weaver doesn’t think so,” she replied. She, then, gave a toothy grin as she threw an arm around Dawna. “I don’t need a stupid badge anyway. I’ll just be just fine.”

Dawna frowned. She always knew when Catra was lying, years of living with her making Dawna highly perceptive to her emotions. “If… If you s-say so,” she muttered. She, then, turned back to Adora. “Is there… Is there another reason y-you  _ a _ sked me here?”

Adora smirked before pulling out a pair of keys. “Wanna go for a ride?”

* * *

Dawna couldn’t control her fear. Why did she agree to this? This was the most reckless thing that they could think of. They were gonna die with how fast this thing went. Or worse. Oh,  _ why  _ did she agree to follow them?

“C-can you guys s-slow this thing down?” Dawna stuttered, shutting her eyes tight in fear.

“We’ll be fine!” Catra called back.

“Y-you say that and next thing… you know, one of us is plum-plummeting to our deaths,” Dawna called back.

And, then, just like that, Catra and Adora were fighting over who was driving. Dawna hated conflict. It scared her. Before she could say anything, though, she noticed something ahead of them. “G-guys!” She called, the two looking back at her. “Look,” she said, pointing to the canopy of trees ahead of them.

The two looked up at the trees, Catra’s ears perking up in interest. “What is this?” She inquired.

“This must be the Whispering Woods,” Adora answered. “They say there are strange monsters and the trees move when you’re not looking. Every Horde squadron that has been sent here hasn’t come out again.”

“N-never?” Dawna whimpered.

Adora shook her head. “Never.”

Dawna shivered. “That… That sounds awful,” she responded.

“Let’s go in,” Catra said, making Dawna’s stomach drop.

“Wait, what?” Adora asked before Catra put the skiff at max speed, causing both her and Dawna to yelp in surprise.

Catra gave a cheer as they sped through the sky.

“Slow down!” Adora told Catra.

“Y-yes,” Dawna agreed. “P-please slow down.”

Catra didn’t listen as they kept speeding through the air. Dawna crouched down and shut her eyes, tight again. With Catra’s recklessness, they were sure gonna die.

“Catra! Tree! Tree!” Adora shouted.

Dawna opened her eyes just in time to see Adora get wacked off of the skiff by a vine.

“Adora!” Catra shouted.

The next thing that Dawna knew, they crashed into a tree not too soon after. Catra and Dawna went rolling on the ground, the latter giving a small whimper as she sat up. “O-Ow,” she mewled. “That really hurt.”

“Are you okay?” Catra asked as she sat up.

“I’m f-fine,” Dawna responded. “J-just a few scrapes… I think.”

Catra wasn’t pleased with that answer and decided to check her over herself, grabbing her chin and turning it to make sure there were no hidden injuries before checking her arms and putting pressure on places to see if there were any broken bones. When finished, she nodded. “You’re good,” she muttered.

Dawna pouted. “I… told you that I w-was fine,” she grumbled.

“You, then, added ‘I think’ after that statement,” Catra reminded her, booping her nose. “If you hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have done everything I’ve just done.”

Dawna grumbled a bit more before Catra stood up, looking around. “We gotta find Adora,” she told Dawna.

Dawna stood and dusted herself off. “W-where are we going?” She asked.

Catra sniffed the air. “Probably not far.”

Dawna followed closely behind her friend, trying her best not to jump at any of the sounds she heard. These woods were spooky. She had never seen anything like it. There was something almost hypnotic and mysterious about it. She glanced around to make sure there wasn’t anything following them when she spotted Adora.

“A-Adora!” Dawna called as she found the blonde girl lying on the ground, racing toward her. She was lying unconscious on the ground.

Catra got to Adora faster, hovering over her and looking her over. “Adora,” she said before shaking her. “Adora, wake up!”

Adora’s sky blue eyes slowly opened before focusing on both Dawna and Catra. “Catra? Dawna?” She rasped. “What happened?”

Catra gave a sigh of relief before smirking. “You ran a skiff into a tree,” she answered.

Adora frowned before pushing Catra off of her. “No, you ran a skiff into a tree,” she shot back.

Dawna smiled at her friends banter. She always thought it was funny how they pretended to mad at each other. She knew they would never hurt each other.

Adora’s face soon turned confused as she looked around. “Where’s the sword?” She asked.

Dawna tilted her head, confused. “Wha-what  _ s _ word?”

Adora looked around, looking confused and worried. “There was a sword here.”

Catra grabbed at Adora’s face, checking her over. “Are you okay?” She asked. “Do you have brain damage?”

Adora pushed Catra away again. “I do not have brain damage,” she responded.

“A-are you sure?” Dawna asked, feeling a wave of anxiety come over her. If Shadow Weaver ever found out something happened to Adora, she would have her and Catra’s heads.

“I’m sure.” Adora stood, dusting herself off. “Let’s just go home.”

Dawna sighed. “Th-that sounds like-like a great idea.” She followed Adora. “I-I don’t wanna st-stay out in these creepy woods anymore.”

“It’s not that scary,” Catra said, jumping up to follow Dawna and Adora. “I bet there’s not even anything to worry about out here.”

Dawna rolled her eyes.

“Oh, Catra,” Adora responded, dramatically. “The oh so Brave One of us all.”

Adora fell onto Catra’s side. “Whatever would we do without you?”

Catra hissed at her and playfully snarled before tackling Adora to the ground, the two tusseling in the grass.

Dawna gave a small laugh. Seeing them have fun always made her so happy. “C-come on, you two,” she called to them as they wrestled. “We-we need to get back h-home before someone notices we’re gone.”

Both of her friends leaped up to follow. “I’ll race you!” Catra called over her shoulder as she shot ahead, Adora right on her heels.

“C-come on, guys!” Dawna called to them. “You-you know I c-can’t run that fast!”

She followed after them anyway. She always liked racing with them.

* * *

Dawna was feeling anxious. And for a good reason, too. Adora was missing. Adora never went missing. That was strange and unusual. She would never go anywhere without telling her or Catra. And she always made sure to come back. Now that she was missing, Shadow Weaver was on their case.

Dawna found herself pacing outside Shadow Weaver interrogated Catra for the fourth time since Adora’s disappearance. It was making her panic. What was Shadow Weaver going to do to Catra? What was she going to do to  _ her _ ?

The door opened and Catra stepped out, ears pinned back to show her distress. “Wh-what happened?” Dawna asked. “Did she-did she hurt you?”

“I’m fine,” Catra responded, her voice distant.

Dawna didn’t like that. She hated when Catra got all distant and quiet. It wasn’t her. Trying to reassure her, Dawna placed a hand on Catra’s shoulder. “It’s-it’s gonna b-be o-”

Catra cut her off with a hiss and threw her hand off. “Don’t say that!” She hissed.

Dawna retracted her hand and glanced away. “I’m-I’m sorry,” she whimpered.

Catra seemed to notice her actions and took Dawna’s hand back. “No,” she said, quickly. “It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have lashed out.”

Tears pricked at the edge of Dawna’s eyes. “I want Adora to come back,” she whispered.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Catra said, gently, wiping away Dawna’s eyes. “Don’t cry. She’ll come back.”

Dawna gave a sniff. “Promise?”

A shadow fell over Catra’s eyes for a moment before it was replaced by a look of determination. “I promise.”

* * *

_ Dawna gave a grunt as she was shoved to the ground. “Ow,” she whimpered. _

_ " _ _ Give up already,” Lonnie told her. “You can never keep up with us.” _

_ Dawna frowned up at her. “I can, too!” She responded, determinedly, as she stood up.  _

_ Her and the other kids had been playing around, the four deciding to have a race. Now, Dawna wasn’t the fastest, but she felt she made up for it with her determination. But, her uniform was too big and she was tripping, constantly, which slowed her down. Lonnie seemed to have gotten annoyed at Dawna’s persistence since she stopped the race to push her down. _

_ “Yeah right,” Lonnie said, mockingly. “Keep dreaming. You’ll never be on our level.” _

_ “I will!” Dawna shouted, stomping her foot. _

_ Lonnie smirked before giving her push. “Prove it,” she taunted. _

_ “Lonnie, leave her alone,” Kyle told her. _

_ “Why should I?” Lonnie asked. “She wants to prove herself, she should go ahead and prove herself.” _

_ Dawna clenched her fists before charging Lonnie and toppling her over on the ground. The two rolled around on the ground, Dawna trying her best to get a hit in on Lonnie. It was a struggle since Lonnie was better at fighting than her. She was able to block Dawna’s flailing arms before kneeing her in the stomach, making her fall back with the strength of it. _

_ Lonnie pinned her down and smirked at her. “I told you you wouldn’t be able to win.” _

_ Dawna retaliated by kneeing her in the stomach, too, but it didn’t do much. She kept at it, trying her best to push the other girl off of her, but that only made her laugh at her laugh at her. _

_ “Aw, look!” Lonnie teased. “Dawna’s gonna cry.” _

_ “I am not!” The indigo-haired girl denied, even with tears blurring her vision as she began to kick and hit Lonnie over and over. She hated Lonnie.  _ Hated  _ her. She was always so mean to her and she just couldn’t understand  _ why _? What had she done to deserve this? She doesn’t remember ever being mean to her. “Get off of me!” She shouted after noticing that Lonnie wouldn’t budge as much as she hit her. _

_ She still didn’t budge as Dawna shouted at her. Dawna continued to hit and kick and shout until Lonnie was suddenly pushed off. _

_ Adora came to her side, helping her up. “You okay?” She asked, looking Dawna over. _

_ Dawna didn’t answer as she looked to where she found Catra fighting with Lonnie in her place. Catra was a way better fighter than her, too. She felt a wave of anger and humiliation wash over her. She’d never win a battle by herself. Adora and Catra will always be there to fight them for her. _

_ “I’m fine,” she told Adora, looking away. She didn’t want to see her pity. She didn’t want to see how Adora found her weak. She would never be as strong as her. _

_ Catra, finally, finished her tussle with Lonnie and got up while hissing at her. “Don’t ever mess with her again!” She shouted after Lonnie as she scampered off. After watching her until she was out of sight, Catra came to Dawna’s side, too. “You okay?” She inquired. _

_ “I’m fine,” Dawna grumbled, sitting down and drawing her knees up while putting her head in her lap. She fought back her tears.  _ I’m not gonna cry, I’m not gonna cry,  _ she told herself, over and over again.  _ Soldiers don’t cry. That’s what Shadow Weaver said.

_ “You guys think I’m strong, right?” Dawna asked, looking up at her friends. _

_ Adora and Catra both looked surprised at her question before Adora smiled, softly, and hugged her. “Of course,” she answered. _

_ “Did Lonnie tell you that you weren’t?” Catra demanded, her tail lashing. “Because if she did, I’ll go get her again!” _

_ Dawna gave a small laugh and wiped away some stray tears. “As much as I would appreciate it, Catra, it wouldn’t be a good idea.” _

_ Catra seemed to think it over. “You’re right,” she answered. She soon gave Dawna a toothy smile. “You’re really brave, Dawna. I’m proud of you.” _

_ “And if you ever need help,” Adora added, “we’ll always be by your side.” _

_ Dawna felt her heart swell but she had to make sure they weren’t lying. “Promise?” She asked. _

_ Both Catra and Adora nodded before hugging her. “We promise,” they said in unison. _

* * *

“What-what do you mean Adora’s n-n _ o _ t coming back?” Dawna asked as she looked at Catra, her heart pounding.

Catra had just come back from the raid on Thaymor, her squad having been defeated by a new Princess that she overheard Lonnie speaking about in the locker room. After finding Catra, she asked her if she had found Adora only to be told that their friend wasn’t coming home.

“She betrayed us to join the Rebellion,” Catra muttered, eyebrows knitted and her ears pinned back.

“That… that c-can’t be  _ r _ ight,” Dawna whispered. “Adora wouldn’t- she w-would never join the R-Rebellion.”

“Well, she did,” Catra snapped at her, Dawna recoiling from her harsh tone. “She left us behind and she’s not coming back ever!”

Dawna took a step back. “This-this d-doesn’t make  _ a _ ny s-sense,” she said. “W-why would Adora b-break her promise? She’s… never done th-that before”

Catra turned away from her. “Well, she did,” she grumbled. She, then, turned back to Dawna and put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry,” she told Dawna with a smile that she could tell was forced. “We’ll look out for each other from now on. We don’t need Adora.”

Dawna clenched her fists. This didn’t feel right. Adora would never just leave them. At least, she thought she wouldn’t. She looked into Catra’s heterochromatic eyes. “You’re-You’re right,” she replied. “We d-don’t n _ ee _ d Ador-Adora.”

They didn’t need her if she was going to betray them like this. All they needed was each other and that was all they needed.

**  
  
  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawna's adjusting to life without Adora. Just her and Catra. But, since Catra's promotion to Force Captain, even that friendship feels as if it's straining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we delve into Dawna's relationships with other characters. Well, delve deeper. She's got a lot of complex relationships with the others.

**Chapter 2**

Dawna stretched and yawned as she opened her eyes. She looked to the foot of the bed to find Catra was gone. Probably being briefed on a mission. She was a Force Captain, now, after all.

Dawna stood from the bed and stretched again before going to fix up the bed. She was always the neatest out of the other cadets. She didn’t like messes and it bothered her when there was one.

After making sure that the bed was made, the indigo-haired girl went to brush her teeth and get ready for the day. She stopped for a moment, feeling that something was missing before going back to the bed and grabbing something from under it.

Dawna smiled at the pair of goggles in her hands before blowing the dust off of them. She had been neglecting them since Adora had left, not wanting to wear them since they brought back so many memories.

She remembered when they had got them. Her, Catra, and Adora had been messing around in the storage room since Dawna had wanted to help Liam with cleaning up when they had fallen out of the box they were in. Adora had noticed Dawna’s interest in them and placed them on her head, unceremoniously. She had worn them ever since.

But after Adora’s betrayal, she hadn’t worn them since they brought back too many memories. She already knew about the scratched up picture on their bed. The little chalk face of both Adora and Catra. Adora’s face had been scratched out by Catra’s claws and she remembers coming back to a torn-up pillow and scratched up bed sheets.

Dawna took the goggles and finished her routine, placing the goggles on her head as she put on her Horde uniform. _Time to start the day,_ she told herself, psyching herself up as she looked at herself in the mirror. She shot herself some finger guns in the mirror. “L-looking good,” she told herself, winking.

She took the trash out of the trashcan and headed toward where all the Horde dumped their waste, stopping to say “hello” to Liam as she did so before heading to her room again. She had gotten into tinkering a lot more, lately, and wanted to test some of her gadgets out today.

“Dawna.”

Or maybe it would have to wait. Dawna’s heart started racing as she heard Shadow Weaver’s voice and she turned slowly, fists clenched and palms sweaty. “Y-yes?” She asked, her voice sounding weak as she turned toward her guardian.

“What are you planning to get up to this fine day?” Shadow Weaver asked her.

“J-just tin-tinkering today,” Dawna answered.

Shadow Weaver narrowed her eyes as she hummed. “I don’t understand why you can’t be like the other cadets and do training,” she said to her.

“I… d-don’t like f-fighting,” Dawna muttered. “It’s-it’s scary.”

It was true for her. She might’ve fought Lonnie once before but she had been angry enough to do so at that moment. But, otherwise, she hated fighting and honestly found the war with the Rebellion kind of pointless. She had no idea what they were even fighting for anymore. She knew why Adora and Catra fought. Adora always said it was because it was what she was born to do and what she _needed_ to do. Catra fought just because Adora was fighting. She knew that there was some deeper reason for why she fought but Dawna didn’t know at the moment.

“You have potential, Dawna,” Shadow Weaver continued. “Why would you waste it on making toys?”

“They-they aren’t t-toys,” Dawna responded.

Shadow Weaver ignored her statement. “If only Adora had stayed,” she sighed. “She would’ve encouraged you to fight more.”

Dawna knew that wasn’t true. Adora supported her choice not to fight. She would’ve supported her choice in tinkering, too.

“M-maybe,” she muttered instead. She had stopped trying to argue with Shadow Weaver long ago. It just wasn’t worth it anymore.

Shadow Weaver started to leave. “I would get rid of you,” she said, Dawna’s heart stopping. “But, that would hurt poor Catra.”

Dawna whipped around and took Shadow Weaver’s hand, feeling bile rise in her throat. “You… you w-wouldn’t do that,” she whispered. “N-not to Cat-Catra.”

“I could,” Shadow Weaver responded.

Dawna didn’t like what she did next and she knew she would regret it for years to come, but she got down on her knees for Shadow Weaver. She was desperate. She wouldn’t let her friends get hurt. “P-please, Shadow Weaver,” she pleaded. “Please d-don’t hurt Catra. I-I’ll do anything-anything you a-ask of m-m-me. Please!”

Shadow Weaver seemed to be thinking hard about what she wanted to say before reaching down to tuck a strand of hair behind Dawna’s ear and stroking her face. Dawna shivered, which she believed actually pleased Shadow Weaver. “Anything?” She asked.

Dawna nodded. “Just-just don’t hurt C-Catra, please.”

“Good,” Shadow Weaver purred. “I have nothing for you at the moment, dear, but I’ll let you know when I do.”

Dawna nodded, letting Shadow Weaver’s hand go. “Th-thank you,” she breathed out. “I-I’ll w-wait for your-your instructions.”

Shadow Weaver patted her on the head before leaving, Dawna fighting to get control of her breathing. What had she just done? She felt disgusted. But, this- She was doing this for Catra.

Right?

* * *

“Hey, Dawna,” Lonnie called out to the indigo-haired girl.

Dawna turned around. She and Lonnie didn’t have a friendship really, so it was odd for her to call on her. “U-um, y-yes?” She answered, feeling somewhat anxious as she held her neatly folded clothes.

“You doing okay?” Lonnie asked. “You know, after Adora’s defection and everything.”

Dawna felt confusion and suspicion wash over her. How come Lonnie was being so nice to her? Sure, she had let up on her bullying since they were younger but she had never been nice to her. “I’m-I’m doing fine,” she answered, eyebrows knitting in confusion. “It’s-it’s kind of hard, th-though.”

Lonnie hummed. “It seems so.” The other girl seemed to think for a moment. “Hey, if you ever want to come and hang with us when Catra’s not on a mission or when we’re not training, you can.”

Dawna blinked at her, feeling a small smile gracing her lips. “Th-thanks,” she said before turning to leave. She never had someone be so nice before. Well, besides Catra and…

Dawna shook her head. Adora was a liar. She betrayed her and Catra. She was not nice.

* * *

Dawna squealed as Catra wrapped an arm around her, giving her a noogie. “C-Catra!” She wailed.

“Hey, you,” Catra greeted as she let her go. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

Dawna chuckled. “I feel-I feel the s-same way,” she responded. “How’s-How’s Force Cap-Captain duties trea-treating you?”

Catra fell back on the bed with a groan. “It’s so stressful and exhausting,” she complained to Dawna. “Sometimes I wish it was just us hanging out.”

Dawna hummed. She felt the same with how everything was going. Adora had left, leaving a hole in their team. Shadow Weaver was now on Dawna’s case about everything. And Catra… she was working her butt off to be a good Force Captain and be in Hordak’s good graces.

Dawna had never seen Lord Hordak but he seemed to be quite scary. And not being in his good graces did not sound too good. That’s why Dawna tried her best to go unnoticed by him even if she was a ward of his second in command.

“M-maybe it won’t be so-so bad after awhile,” Dawna said to Catra, going back to tinkering with the small gadget in her hands. She had been making some small pocket weapons while alone. She might be a pacifist herself but she knew that the others would need weapons. She also needed one just in case. Especially since Adora was gone and her pillow dagger had been taken away.

She clicked a button on the gadget, which looked like a pen, and gave a small gasp as a flaming blade popped out. _Awesome,_ she thought to herself.

“That looks cool,” Catra said, coming to Dawna’s side. “How’d you do that?”

Dawna gave a small blush. “Um,” she started. “Do- do you really w-wanna hear it?”

Catra gave her a soft smile. “Of course,” she said.

Dawna gave a bright smile and started to ramble on about all of the science and her creative drive for it. And Catra sat there and listened. She always did. It always made Dawna feel great to have somebody listen to her rambling, even with her stutter. Catra had never been one for all this science stuff and didn’t really understand so Dawna always made sure to explain to her anything she didn’t understand. It was quite nice to share her knowledge with someone.

Catra stayed there until she was called away. She gave a groan, ears drooping. “I gotta go,” she said to Dawna. “Tell me more later?”

Dawna gave a small smile. “I-I will.”

Catra stood up and left the room, hugging Dawna before she left.

Dawna sighed and laid back on the bed. She felt that her relationship with Catra was straining. She was always too busy and without Adora, she was incredibly lonely. 

She got up and shook her head. Catra was doing what was for the best. And Dawna was, too. They’d be okay with just each other.

* * *

“W-why are we out in the-in the woods again?” Dawna asked Shadow Weaver as she trailed after her.

Shadow Weaver had finally found something for Dawna to do for her and had taken her out to the Whispering Woods. Dawna hated the woods. They were creepy and they had been the catalyst for Adora’s defection. It brought back too many memories. She clutched her arm, nervous. She wanted to do whatever Shadow Weaver wanted her to do and get out of here.

“I want you to find me a mushroom,” Shadow Weaver instructed her.

Dawna looked at her confused for a moment. “Um, wh-what’s a mush-mushroom?” She asked.

Shadow Weaver only looked back at her and narrowed her eyes. “You’ll figure it out.”

Shadow Weaver soon pointed outward toward the forest. “Now, go,” she commanded, Dawna clenching tight on her backpack and stalking further into the forest.

_Mushroom. Mushroom,_ she repeated to herself. She had never heard of those in the Horde. Was it edible? Was it dangerous? From what she could tell, it was definitely a plant. But, she had never seen one before. Shadow Weaver was setting her up to fail. She always did. She knew that all she wanted to do was please her, so she made her do things either without explaining what she wants her to do or telling her that she was wrong even though she was right.

Dawna, heart pounding and blood pulsing in her ears, made a radical decision. Pick up every plant she found. _Every_ one of them. And that was what she did and placed them in her bag. She didn’t know what these plants were. She had never been out of the Fright Zone except for once. It was all new and confusing and she had no clue how to navigate it.

Once she had picked up plenty of plants, she got ready to go back to Shadow Weaver. She stopped when she heard a noise in the distance. Curious, she walked towards the sound. It sounded like… people talking. She didn’t know what they were talking about but she could hear them. Their voices became clearer the closer she wandered. One of them was a masculine sounding voice, sounding somewhat distressed about something.

Another voice- this one feminine and high pitched- seemed to be soothing the distressed person. “We’ll be fine, Bow,” they said. “Dryll shouldn’t be that bad.”

“Well, it says here that Dryll is far away in a dangerous mountain,” Bow- the masculine voice- answered. “And Adora can’t exactly control her powers, yet.”

Dawna stopped, her heart seizing in her chest. _Adora?_ She thought. _Adora is with these strangers?_ Dawna didn’t believe her ears but she knew her eyes wouldn’t deceive her. She found a place to stay hidden but able to see these people, ducking down in a bush. 

Dawna felt herself about to faint her worries were confirmed true. Adora was with two other people. They looked like they were from the Rebellion from their strange outfits. She couldn’t hear what they were saying since the blood was rushing to her ears. She started to back away, heart pounding. _Adora left us… for the Rebellion?_ She thought, frantically. She felt like she was going to puke. So caught up in her confusion and denial, she ended up stepping on a tree branch that caught Adora and the Rebellion members' attention.

_Uh oh._

“Who’s there?” Adora called out, pulling a sword off her back and holding it in front of her.

Dawna didn’t have time to observe as she ran off, leaving Adora behind. Her mind was frantic. Adora had left them for the _Rebellion._ She left Catra and her all alone with Shadow Weaver for some- some… _strangers!_ People she didn’t know! And that sword… the one she had been holding… That must’ve been the sword she had been talking about when they went for the joyride. She left them for some strangers and a random _sword?!_ If she had wanted one that bad, she could’ve asked Dawna to make one for her!

“Dawna.”

The girl skidded to a halt at Shadow Weaver’s voice. She looked up at her guardian, panting.

Shadow Weaver’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you running?” She demanded. “Was something chasing after you?”

Dawna shook her head. “N-no,” she breathed out, feeling guilt well up in her for lying. “I-I-I just wan-wanted to get to you as soon- as soon as possible.”

She had no idea why she was covering up for Adora. She left her and Catra to fend for themselves while she went and got buddy-buddy with strangers. She should have told the truth and let her feel the pain she felt. But, she didn’t. She lied to Shadow Weaver’s face.

“Did you find a mushroom?” The older woman asked after looking her over, suspiciously.

Dawna drew her shoulders up. “I-I’m not su-sure,” she responded. “I d-don’t kn-know what a mush-mushroom looks like.”

Shadow Weaver flared up at her, causing her to flinch. “You absolutely foolish child!” She screamed at the young girl. “You mean you couldn’t figure it out?”

“N-no, ma’am,” Dawna responded, trying her best to not shake or let Shadow Weaver see her cry. “I-I had n-never heard of a mush-mushroom before.”

Shadow Weaver swiped the backpack off of Dawna’s back, causing the girl to stumble forward. “I don’t understand why I keep you around!” Shadow Weaver hissed.

“I-I-”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Shadow Weaver exclaimed. “Should’ve known better than to trust a stupid girl like you.”

Dawna wanted to argue that she was a very smart girl. Catra told her she was smart all the time. Sometimes she said she was smarter than her. But, it would be pointless to argue with Shadow Weaver. She followed her as they headed back home.

Maybe she wasn’t as

smart as she thought. Maybe Catra said that to pity her.

She shook her head. What was she thinking? Catra was her friend. She cared about her too much. She would never lie or use her. Unlike Adora.

Dawna would be fine. As long as she had Catra, she would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like it? Was it good? Good.


End file.
